I've only really played my Blues Deluxe for the last 15 years - I have one or two guitars but only the one amp, till now. I don't count the Blues Junior. So it feels strange playing something new. I'm surprised how different it sounds. I'm missing the mid control, I tend to turn it all the way up on my BD, so the new one sounds a bit hollow in the middle, if that makes any sense?

I need to try it at rehearsal to see what it really sounds like, but I wondered if anyone else had one? Any tips on how to get the best out of it?

I don't know what adjustable bias is, & I have no intention of touching anything inside it. My knowledge of amps is minimal! I need to try it out at rehearsal to see what it really sounds like. If it needs a service & re-valve, I'll get my local tech to do it for me. If I do it, I'll probably get it all wrong.

The sound is already growing on me, even though it's quite different to the Blues Deluxe. It's the only amp I've played since I got it.

The original tubes on my BD lasted 15 years! I was told by the seller that this one had new valves quite recently.

I don't mind messing with pickups on a Strat or a Tele. But mains voltage? No thanks! Too much chance of me messing it up! I'll get my tech to make any changes - after the fret jobs he's done for me on a few guitars, I trust him.

I don't mind messing with pickups on a Strat or a Tele. But mains voltage? No thanks! Too much chance of me messing it up! I'll get my tech to make any changes - after the fret jobs he's done for me on a few guitars, I trust him.

Tinkering with tubes can be as addictive as tinkering with caps or pots ... believe me ...
... and if you take that your amp isn't connected when swapping the tubes it isn't dangerous at all ...
Roger_________________

There's always the option to get a master volume control fitted to increase flexibility (if I can work out where to put it!), but I wouldn't want to do that until I'm sure it's a keeper. Until then, I'm using two different overdrive pedals - one for mild crunch, the other for greater gain.

Mike, as you know I'm more of a Marshall man, but the concepts are the same. If the amp's sweet-spot is turned up to 7 (or whatever) fitting a MV won't help. 90% of the sound of a good old valve amp comes from the power-stage, fitting a MV means that most of your tone will come from the pre-amp, it might sound good, but it certainly wont sound the same.

The marshall powerbrake is the best thing I ever bought, it means my JTM45 still sounds like a JTM45 at lowish volumes. Other alternatives are a hot-plate (personally don't like them) a Weber Mass, or getting powerscaling fitted.

Running your amp 'hot' like this means you can do a lot more with just the controls on your guitar rather than use pedals, it's a much more satisfiying approach, and sounds better too!